Little Blighty on the Down was a satirical radio comedy series broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1988 and 1992. It was a parody of contemporary life in Britain as seen in the small village of Little Blighty. (Blighty being an old affectionate nickname for Britain; a down is a chalk hill, such as in England’s South Downs; the village’s name is thus suggestive of a Britain which is “little” rather than “great” in terms of importance or governance, and which shouldn’t be described as being “on the up”).

A clever and fondly-remembered satirical series, transmitted during Week Ending’s periodic breaks, this “everyday story of a country folk” related events in the small village of Little Blighty — events which somehow always bore close relation to whatever was going on in the outside world. I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again veteran Jo Kendall starred as Mrs Roberts, domineering leader of the Parish Council, who engaged in rather one-sided battles with her tongue-tied rival, Working Men’s Club president Mr Blandish. The series, scripted by Mark Burton, John O’Farrell and Mike Coleman, charted the political landscape in miniature for five years: momentous upheavals saw the council gain a new leader, in the shape of ex-circus employee John Barnum, while the deposed Mrs Roberts was reduced to the level of a meths-drinking crone in a bath-chair, indignantly shouting “I used to be the leader of the Parish Council!” at anyone who would listen.